Isoprenoids constitute an extremely large and diverse group of natural products that have a common biosynthetic origin, i.e., a single metabolic precursor, isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP). At least 20,000 isoprenoids have been described. By definition, isoprenoids are made up of so-called isoprene (C5) units. The number of C-atoms present in the isoprenoids is typically divisible by five (C5, C10, C15, C20, C25, C30 and C40), although irregular isoprenoids and polyterpenes have been reported. Isoprenoid compounds are also referred to as “terpenes” or “terpenoids.” Important members of the isoprenoids include the carotenoids, sesquiterpenoids, diterpenoids, and hemiterpenes. Carotenoids include, e.g., lycopene, β-carotene, and the like, many of which function as antioxidants. Sesquiterpenoids include, e.g., artemisinin, a compound having anti-malarial activity. Diterpenoids include, e.g., taxol, a cancer chemotherapeutic agent.
Isoprenoids comprise the most numerous and structurally diverse family of natural products. In this family, terpenoids isolated from plants and other natural sources are used as commercial flavor and fragrance compounds as well as pharmaceutical compounds such as anti-malarial, anti-viral, and anti-cancer drugs. A majority of the terpenoid compounds in use today are natural products or their derivatives. The source organisms (e.g., trees, marine invertebrates) of many of these natural products are neither amenable to the large-scale cultivation necessary to produce commercially viable quantities nor to genetic manipulation for increased production or derivatization of these compounds. Therefore, the natural products must be produced semi-synthetically from analogs or synthetically using conventional chemical syntheses. Furthermore, many natural products have complex structures, and, as a result, are currently uneconomical or impossible to synthesize. Such natural products must be either extracted from their native sources, such as trees, sponges, corals and marine microbes; or produced synthetically or semi-synthetically from more abundant precursors. Extraction of a natural product from a native source is limited by the availability of the native source; and synthetic or semi-synthetic production of natural products can suffer from low yield and/or high cost. Such production problems and limited availability of the natural source can restrict the commercial and clinical development of such products.
An example of an important sesquiterpene compound is artemisinin. Artemisinin is a highly effective anti-malarial drug that is currently extracted from plants (Artemisia annua) and is used to make combination therapy medications. Plant-derived artemisinin is expensive and its availability is subject to weather and political conditions in the countries that grow the plants. Artemisinic acid is a key intermediate in the biosynthesis of artemisinin. Conversion of amorpha-4,11-diene to artemisinic alcohol, an important step in making artemisinin, by traditional chemistry is a difficult and costly process.
There is a need in the art for methods of generating isoprenoid compounds that avoid some of the above-mentioned drawbacks. The present invention addresses this need by providing polynucleotides that encode enzymes that modify isoprenoid compounds, and host cells that are genetically modified to produce such enzymes.